Class Dojo?!

I find the article titled, "Classroom Behavior? There's an App for That" by Lisa Mims, is very fitting for this week as we discuss second city and virtual worlds. Class Dojo is an app that allows teachers to set up avatars for all students. Mims claims, "Once your class is set up, you have the ability to award points, affectionately known as "dojos" in my classroom, for positive or negative behavior. You can award individual or multiple students." She also commented, " ClassDojo can be used with your interactive whiteboard, laptops, desktops or smart phones. Students get immediate feedback to their behavior by the distinctive sound made when their avatar is clicked." It sounds very interesting! I am not sure it would be easily maintained for a middle school or high school teacher with several different classes, but I love the idea of it in the elementary grades! How cool that students can be more interactive with their classroom behavior and involvement via an iPad app! As a student, that would be pretty neat! Mims said she introduced this app to other teachers at her school, ones that aren't the most tech-savvy, and they really enjoyed it too!

Mims, Lisa. "Classroom Behavior? There's an App for That." Edutopia. N.p., 13 June 2013. Web. 20 June 2013.

"How to Build Support for Education Technology" Article

I read a great article from Edutopia titled, "How to Build Support for Education Technology" that was all about creating an environment of positivity for the changing times of education and how implementing technology can be so beneficial for our students. It is hard for the older generation to jump on the "tech train", and I understand their apprehensiveness, but I would like to see them at least give it a try before resorting back to their "older" ways. The author, Anne OBrien, makes a good point in stating, "Convincing community stakeholders to support education technology can be challenging. Some are of the "I didn't have it, and I turned out fine" mentality."  She also states, " Those are real challenges that need to be addressed. But at the same time, we in the education community need to build support among the general public for education technology." She came up with a list of phrases or words to change when discussing technology changes in education and implementation. Some include, "Investing in our kids' future" (not "investing in technology"), "Tools for learning" (not "digital resources"), "Technology-enhanced learning" (not "integrating technology into instruction"), "Active engagement" (not "relevancy-based") and "Flexible" (not "un-tethered"). I love all of these "changes" to the wording and ways to get community support for education in technology.

OBrien, Anne. "How to Build Support for Education Technology." Edutopia. N.p., 20 June 2013. Web. 20 June 2013.

Virtual Worlds...

Does anyone else think of The Sims while reading the articles for this week? I remember playing that computer game when I was growing up, and I loved it! Although, after a while, it did get pretty monotonous and didn't leave much to the imagination, similar to a video game...After a while, we get bored! Anyways, The article, "7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Worlds" was an interesting read for me because I remember,while getting my undergrad at CMU, seeing and hearing from students that had to go to the Woldt computer lab and play with their "avatars" and do this "city" thing. Now, it all makes sense to me! They were using these programs, specifically Second Life for educational purposes. After reading this article, I am intrigued on how this really would work in a high school classroom, especially in my Spanish classroom. Could I change the language? It would be awesome for them to have to maintain every week something in their Second Life world in the target language! I do see the issues discussed in the article, especially the goofing off. I know also that our server would not support a program such as Second Life, as we already have server/internet issues. This is just another idea to look into to implement into the classroom if possible. One thing that crosses my mind after just doing my group blog on attention span and technology....is this promoting that? Just a thought....


“7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Worlds." Educause Learning Inititave. (June 2006)  Web.  Retrieved 19 June 2013. 

Great article- "Mobie Is Now" on Edutopia

Matt Levinson wrote a great article titled, "The Digital Lives of Teens: Mobile Is Now" that made a lot of sense for educators and parents dealing with teenagers and technology. He calls them, "Screenagers", which cracks me up, because this generation relies on a screen, they rely on their apps and mobile everything to feel accomplished or "good" about themselves. As a teacher, I am thankful for rules about cellphones and mobile devices. As a potentially future parent, I am scared and worried about how to deal with that! Levinson discusses how that is such a hard point in a parent/child relationship. Levinson states, "By the beginning of seventh grade, the common refrain among teens to their parents is, 'All my friends have a phone, why can't I have one?' This is a tough spot for parents" (1). What a tough decision for parents! He is so right on by saying that mobile IS now, and embracing it can be a challenge. I see the good in technology-smart phones, tablets, iPods- but what I don't see is parents concerned with the usage in school, the bullying that is going on via the smartphones on social media sites, and how they, as parents, are sometimes the ones texting their child in school! WHAT?! Levinson also talked about maintaining and keeping students engaged and how it has become very hard because they need that screen, that connection, that power online to feel a part of something. Levinson also stated, "Screenagers don't need parents and educators to teach them how to use digital stuff -- phones, tablets, apps" (1). Scary, huh? They know more than we do! While there is nothing wrong with that, and I feel that I can learn something new from students everyday, it is a little scary what the mobile devices can do and what they know how to do with them.

Levinson, Matt. "The Digital Lives of Teens: Mobile Is Now." Edutopia. N.p., 11 June 2013. Web. 12 June 2013.

Lulu

Up until this point, I had never heard of Lulu. After reading, "7 Things You Should Know About Lulu", I was enlightened and surprised at all this site and company has to offer. I am not much of an author, but I do enjoy the calendar, photo options, videos and graphics abilities. I have used vistaprint.com before, not sure if anyone else has, but that site is very easy to use, and when I was reading about Lulu, vistaprint came to mind, as it is basically a printing store on the web. There are so many options available to users on both of these websites, and the fact that they don't charge for everything they offer is fantastic. I love the idea of a staff or department being able to use this site to write up/publish a manual, book, review, etc. and use it in the school. Lulu has some perks! I look forward to using it in the future!

"7 Things You Should Know About Lulu."  Educase Learning Initiative (January 2008).  1-2.  Web.  12 June 2013.

"7 Reasons To Switch To Firefox, The Browser With A Conscience".

I have always used Firefox, but never realized why it was so much better for users as compared to Internet Explorer until now. This article, "7 Reasons To Switch To Firefox, The Browser With A Conscience", written by Nicole Nguyen, made great points as to why Firefox really is better. First, I found out that Firefox is a nonprofit, which according to this article, is not very common, so that is cool that Firefox isn't raking in all the money! I also never realized how user friendly and "smart" Firefox really was until I read about all the features such as the "tab" feature, the "hyper-secure browsing", and the "drag and drop" customization. Firefox is always the browser that works best on our school computers, and now that I know some cool features, I will be able to help kids utilize it. I was also impressed with how compatible it is with Android and OS features. This is a browser that is really trying to help its users! Way to go, Firefox!


Nguyen, Nicole. "7 Reasons To Switch To Firefox, The Browser With A Conscience." ReadWrite. N.p., 07 June 2013. Web. 09 June 2013.

Social Networking and Facebook...

I do have a Facebook account, and I used to enjoy being a "user", but I have to admit, that Facebook and social networking has gotten a little out of control for some out in the cyber world. I am not the average user. I get on about once a day, do a quick check, and get off. I barely post pictures, updates, play games, or do all of that "stuff" that several of my Facebook friends do. I don't have time, but I also don't feel the need to constantly post pictures of my food, my dog(because I don't have kids), my life, ANYTHING OR EVERYTHING, that people post about...It drives me insane and actually makes me think that our society has gotten to a point where we HAVE to feel good about ourselves based on the number of "likes" we get on a picture of something that nobody really cares to see! Too brutal? Maybe, but I miss the days of personal interaction, and no they aren't gone, but they sure aren't the same, and I know that as an Ed. Tech major, that the internet will constantly be changing our lifes and updating, but why are we so needy? So addicted to social networking? I don't have a smart phone because I don't want to know what people are doing 24/7 on all of the sites and I really don't think they need to know what I am doing either! Phew, I am ranting, but I just think social networking, for some users, young and old, has become a necessary way of life and they just can't go without it..... I do enjoy being on these sites. I love my "teacher" Twitter, but I don't have a personal one. I like getting on Facebook and checking up with old friends and family members, but I don't post a status of my daily schedule, even to the point of when I am going to shower?!

I do see some pros with using social networking in education, but the line is VERY fine. As a younger teacher, I am constantly asked if I have a Facebook and if we can be "friends". The answer is always No!, but, I would love to create pages for my student council, Link Crew and Spanish Club, were we can post information, pictures, updates, etc. for students because I know they will check it there...well, because, they are always on it! "7 Things You Should Know About Facebook" makes a good point when stating, "By allowing users a range of tools to negotiate and inhabit online networks, Facebook and sites like it can be an important part of the developmental process" (2).  Educators and parents have to embrace these sites and tools, but need to be smart with them, and we need to make sure our students understand the seriousness of that. With that said, these are great tools, can we just not overuse them?!


"7 Things You Should Know About Facebook."  Educase Learning Initiative (May 2007).  1-2.  Web.  8 June 2013.